Manchester Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) International Illustration (Top Up)
Manchester, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 21,500 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* EU and non-EU international students full-time fee
The BA (Hons) International Illustration top-up will support you to think innovatively and respond to global trends in design. The course will expand your critical and conceptual thinking and encourage an understanding of wider global and creative professional design practice, whilst enabling you to develop an individual positioning for your professional design practice.
Collaboration is at the heart of the course - you will undertake design practice modules with current final year students, work on projects with external industry and academic research partners, and exhibit your final projects as part of our annual Degree Shows events.
The one year programmes offer direct entry into the final year of a Bachelor’s degree to students who have successfully completed a relevant HND (or equivalent), or who have completed the second year of a relevant undergraduate degree, who wish to further develop their knowledge and skills in design.
Features and benefits
- This is an ideal degree if you want to top up your existing qualifications and achieve a BA (Hons) degree in just one year
- Successful completion of the course will also enable those with a high enough grade to join one of Manchester School of Art’s MA programmes
- Opportunity to work alongside a student group with diverse experiences and educational and cultural backgrounds
- Collaborate with current students and industry partners as part of the interdisciplinary Unit X module
Course information
The international illustration top-up course will facilitate students to undertake projects with an external professional and international focus, run in collaboration with a range of academic and professional partners. The projects will offer high-quality opportunities to acquire external professional and international perspectives, and further develop collaborative skills and design practice knowledge within a range of international and/or professional contexts.
Year 1
You will work more independently and focus on your particular strengths, deciding which contexts are most suitable for your visual language. We aim to give you the courage to be yourself and the understanding of how and where you may contribute to the wider world of visual communication and practice.
Core modules
- Illustration with Animation Authorship
- Unit X
- Global Design: Cultures, Contexts and Methods
Illustration graduates from Manchester Met will be well-prepared to embark on a variety of careers within the creative industries, including freelance/in-house design and illustration, book arts and publishing, advertising, filmmaking, storyboarding, animation, teaching and more. Graduates may also progress on to postgraduate study.
Study
- Year 1 40% lectures, seminars or similar; 60% independent study
Assessment
- Year 1 100% coursework
